The present invention relates broadly to the remote control of signal recording equipment. Specifically, the present invention relates to the control of remotely located recording equipment via a computer network.
Most consumer video/audio recording equipment today such as the video cassette recorder (VCR) is equipped with scheduling features. Scheduling features allow users to schedule recording of television programs based on user-specified time and channels. Most equipment can be controlled by remote control. However, for average users the process of scheduling television program recordings can be cumbersome. The user must be present at the location of recording equipment where a remote control unit is situated within an effective operating distance of the recording device. In the case where the remote control unit transmits commands in the form of infrared signals, the remote control unit must also establish line of sight to the recording equipment. Before operating a timer mechanism in conjunction with the recording equipment, the internal clock of video/audio recording equipment must be set to conform to local time. A user reviews schedule information of television programs to be recorded, such as program date, time and channel. A user typically selects a desired program to be recorded and enters schedule information using the remote control unit into the recording equipment. This step may consist of several key entries on the remote control units, since for every intended consecutive scheduled recording, the user specifies the time to begin recording as well as the time to terminate recording.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,692,214 and 5,988,078 to Levine teach implementations of an electronic schedule stored in memory to allow cursor based programming on a conventional video recorder through use of an associated personal computer. The computer communicates with the video recorder via infrared signals of the type used for remote control of the video recorder. Programming schedule information may be provided to the personal computer from a remote database by telephonic communication, broadcast, or use of disposable memories. A remote transmitter connected to the personal computer is used at the time of the recording to send signals to the video recorder to initiate recording of a preselected program, allowing unattended programming memory of the video recorder to initiate recording of a specific channel at a proper time. The method taught by Levine includes the steps of providing at the viewing location a computerized unit having an operator input and a modem; establishing a connection to a wide area network through the modem; transmitting information to a service provider regarding the geographical location of the particular viewing location; and receiving from the service provider information specific to the type of programming available to the particular viewing location. However, neither of the Levine patents address the problem of trying to operate a video recorder from a remote location.
The present invention addresses the problems identified above and provides an apparatus, method and service model which simplify conventional methods for schedule recordings of television programs and enable users to control recording equipment from any location via the Internet. Entities connected to computer networks such as the Internet and web-browser software can schedule recordings of television programs and/or operate the recording equipment. In an example scenario, a user who maintains recording equipment at home may utilize the present invention from his or her workplace or vacation place, accesses a service provider website using her/his user name and password, views the a schedule of television programs provided by a broadcaster or other distributor of programming and selects the television programs to be recorded. The application service provider in turn transmits the selected television program information to a computer connected to a later described remote control unit to execute and operate the recording of selected programs. In this manner, the present invention enables anyone with internet access to remotely operate recording equipment to record television programs.
Another attendant advantage of the present invention is an inexpensive solution to provide global connectivity of the Internet to existing recording equipment. The present invention can be utilized to operate recording equipment such as video cassette recorders, that typically have infrared sensors to receive control commands. Other recording equipment such as DVD recorders, hard drive based video recorders, etc. can also be controlled using the present invention.